Many of Orange County’s longtime Mayors have termed out in recent years – particularly some of those who also were lobbyists or political consulants, or who otherwise appeared to be self-serving, such as Curt Pringle, in Anaheim, Larry Agran, in Irvine, and Jerry Amante, in Tustin. The newer crop of Mayors who have been elected in the last few years include a few that are turning out to be fantastic Mayors.

I would include in the top tier of today’s Mayors Bruce Whitaker, in Fullerton; Tom Tait, in Anaheim; and Steven Choi, in Irvine. All three of them are reliably conservative but they are also compassionate and are leading by example. They are all Republicans as well – and Whitaker leans Libertarian. Continue reading→

We didn’t hang around for the vote last night as it was evident how it would go, so here’s confirmation from the Fountain Valley Patch that 18 OCSD Directors didn’t believe that 61% in fee increases since 2005 wasn’t enough. Seven Board members voted against the increase. John Crandall reports:

Despite opposition from a number of residents, Orange County Sanitation District Board of Directors approved a sewer rate hike for northwest and central Orange County to be phased in over the next several years. The board voted 18-7 to increase sewer service charges by 4.8 percent this year and 2.4 percent each of the next four years. On July 1, the annual fee for the average single family home will become $14 in 2013 and about $8 each of the next four years. The 2013 fee of $294 will be $339 by 2017-18.